“I think everything went well,” head coach Tim Craft said. “I can’t complain about too much except for the first-half turnovers (10), which we cleaned up in the second half. Overall, It was a good effort to start the season.”
Preseason All-Conference selection DQ Nicholas hit two early triples, but the rest of the Runnin’ Bulldogs were ice cold from the floor as they only led 6-3. Ademide Badmus scored the first paint points of the night. Isaiah Richards then converted an old-fashioned 3-point play as the lead increased to double digits.
Newcomer Sahar Lazar hit a three, but the hosts had a hard time pulling away from a pesky Erskine side. Lazar hit another triple, however, to stretch the Gardner-Webb advantage to 30-16 with 5:18 to play in the half. Julien Soumaoro then dialed in a three, as did Buddy Simmons. Nicholas followed with a rare 4-point play and Lucas Stieber finished the half with a bucket as the Runnin’ Bulldogs led at the break, 44-28.
Caleb Robinson began to assert himself to start the second half as Gardner-Webb opened a 54-34 lead at the under-16 timeout. Mykalcio followed with a steal and layup and Lazar connected on a backdoor layup. Simmons hit a transition triple to expand the cushion to 69-38, followed by back-to-back treys from Nicholas and Soumaoro, and one more from Quest Aldridge moments later. The threes continued to fly, as Simmons hit another pair and converted a 3-point play as the lead ballooned to as many as 48 before Erskine hit some shots late to close the gap to 98-58 at the final horn.
HOME SWEET HOME: Gardner-Webb played at home to open the season for just the second time during the Tim Craft era (11 seasons). The other occasion was the 2017 season opener, an 82-70 victory over Wofford.
“It was good to be at home,” Craft said. “The crowd was really enthusiastic and into the game. We usually play against a Power 5 to start a season, so this was a nice change before we go on a long road trip.”
A TRIPLE THREAT: Gardner-Webb hit 14 3-pointers in the game, shooting at a nearly 40 percent clip from beyond the arc.
“I think the 3-point shot will be a big part of our identity this season,” Craft said. “While we have some talented post players for sure, we are not going to be afraid to let it fly.”
IT GETS HARDER FROM HERE: Meaning no disrespect to Division II Erskine, who went 0-28 last season, the Runnin’ Bulldogs will take a serious step up in competition over the next two contests. Gardner-Webb will travel to face 20th-ranked Arkansas and No. 14 Baylor over the weekend. The Runnin’ Bulldogs do have a history of knocking off the big boys, however, defeating eight Power 5 programs since moving to Division I in 2002. The lone win over a ranked team came on November 7, 2007, an 84-68 upset of Kentucky at Rupp Arena.
“We are going to get back to work in practice,” Craft said. “Arkansas and Baylor are both really good, but I believe we can play right with them. We are going to go see what happens.”
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.